Children of Nobody
by PhilosophicalCats
Summary: This was supposed to be easy. High-school was supposed to be /easy./ We didn't sign up for this. -High-school AU, All beta and alpha characters used/mentioned, multiple deaths. rated M for death, drug use, alcohol use, etc-
1. Chapter 1

The yard was split into fours.

The younger kids had one half, while the older took the other side.

Then, once you split up that way, the girls got one side, and the boys got the other.

That's how things worked.

The Vantas brothers got there first, 6:35AM. Karkat sat on the wall near the basketball court and waited for the others while Kankri went to wait for his boyfriend on the other side of the yard.

Next came Kanaya, her older sister, Porrium, in tow, 6:42AM. Porrium greeted Kankri, as Kanaya took her waiting place by the old tree that stood against the fence.

The giggling Roxy Lalonde was drug into the yard by her younger sister, Rose, 6:57AM. Roxy clung to Porrium, half drunk. Rose went to greet her girlfriend, Kanaya.

Always perfectly timed, the Zahhak made their way into the yard, chattering about something, 7:00AM. Horuss left his brother with the girls and took his place by the gate.

The yard had begun to fill as Jake and John entered, 7:13AM. John excitedly hugged his now smiling boyfriend, Karkat, while Jake took Roxy away from Porrium.

Jade and Jane were close behind, 7:15AM. Roxy quickly hugged onto Jane, startling her distracted girlfriend, to which Jade left in a hurry. That was the usual.

Annoyed voices turned heads, Vriska and Aranea were arguing as they entered, 7:26AM. The fed up older sister quickly made her retreat to the other girls waiting across the yard.

Eridan and Cronus came surprisingly early, 7:30AM. Eridan was sitting alone, quietly waiting for his boyfriend, while his older brother left to find Kankri, his own lover.

The Strider's came next, 7:36AM. Jake took no time to find Dirk, giving him a good morning kiss. Dave looked disgusted and had to be rescued by his best friend, John.

The kittysisters were eagerly met by their best friends, 7:40AM. Meulin walked with Horuss to their spot in the yard, laughing about something probably stupid. Nepeta was piggy-backing on Equius to the other girls in their side of the yard. Kind of cute, really.

Latula rode in on a skateboard, Terezi laughing when she fell, 7:48AM. Greetings happened, and then the parting of the two for the day. Terezi on one side, irritating Vriska, her girlfriend, and Latula on the other, doing god knows what.

One was quiet, the other loud. Meenah and Feferi entered the yard and heads would turn, 7:56AM. Mostly for Meenah, though. Cronus was busy macking on Kankri and didn't notice her, but Aranea, her girlfriend, greeted her happily. Feferi sat with Eridan until his boyfriend came, she didn't want him to be alone.

The Makara's were next, 8:00AM. Gamzee was always stoned when he came, that was never a surprise to anyone. He sat with Karkat and John along the wall, waiting for his little boyfriend to come. Kurloz didn't talk much, so no one noticed when he left.

Tavros was wheeled into the yard by his brother Rufioh, 8:03AM. Tavros had been in a wheelchair since he was eight. Gamzee quickly approached, sitting carefully on Tavros' lap. Rufioh laughed, saying his goodbyes to the two, going to greet a waiting Horuss, his boyfriend of two years.

Silence had fallen when they arrived, 8:13AM. Damara spoke no words to her sister, Aradia, before leaving her to pester the older Nitram, and her girlfriend Latula. Aradia calmly made her way to the group of girls, saying hello to Equius in the process.

Lastly came the Captor twins, 8:24AM. Sollux dropped his mentally impaired brother with Kurloz before taking his place next to Eridan on the wall, Eridan + Sollux never made any sense to anyone, but they had been together for almost a year now. Same went for Mituna and Kurloz, after Mituna had hooked up with Latula, everyone was kind of confused. Especially when word got out he was with the silent Makara.

There was only a half hour before the first bell rang, signaling the start of the day. The day went just how it usually did. Random make out sessions between periods, sneaking kisses when the teacher isn't looking, getting stoned and drunk in the bathroom after lunch, you know. The usual.

The was probably the last completely normal day any of them ever faced.


	2. Chapter 2

A week into the year, that's all it took.

8:03AM, Tavros entered the yard alone.

Horuss greeted him,

"Good morning young Nitram!" He spoke in a cheery tone, making Tavros giggle. "Would you please stop by my locker at the end of the day? I should have gotten all of your brother's work together by then." He'd grin down at the seated boy, to which he'd respond with a nod.

That's when it all began.

Rufioh was sick, apparently it was nothing, but as the days went by, the calm look on Horuss and Tavros' face was done. No one thought to ask questions. Gamzee was always too stoned to notice something wrong with Tav, and it seemed to be alright usually, but now you could see he was lonely and afraid.

Two weeks passed, Horuss stuck to Tavros.

News had finally gotten out, Rufioh was dying.

No one ever knew what he had caught, or why no doctor could find a cure for it.

At least, that's what Horuss ranted about everyday at lunch now. He never had many friends, it was always just Rufioh and Meulin, and sometimes Kurloz and Mituna would join them. But that didn't mean much now.

Tavros had began to lose patience with Gamzee; that was evident. According to Kurloz, Tavros had come to their house the night before and gotten in a fight with Gamzee about him needing to "sober up and listen to me you god damn stoner idiot!" According to Kurloz, Gamzee had then gotten mad but kept quiet, saying "If you don't like my choices, then maybe we shouldn't be together." According to Kurloz, that's when Tavros left, ranting to himself about Gamzee.

According to Kurloz, they weren't a thing anymore, and it kind of sucked.

That was the first downfall.

Tavros and Gamzee had broken up.

A few weeks later, Horuss and Tavros made their first appearance at the hospital to see Rufioh.

He was bed bound, couldn't move on his own anymore.

"I'm sorry," he'd croak out at the sight of a crying Horuss, making him sit on the small bed. "I didn't mean to upset you… If I don't make it, please take care of Tav for me…" His eyes were filled with tears now, too. Anyone with eyes could see he was in bad shape, and the fact Horuss couldn't help him… he was a mess.

"Please don't leave me Rufioh… I need you…" Horuss' voice would crack, tears pouring from his eyes. "You promised you wouldn't leave me…"

That was the last memory he had with him.

Sitting in a hospital room, breathing in the strong smell of medication and sanitary supplies, crying.

Rufioh died two hours later, holding Horuss' hand.

Neither the oldest Zahhak nor the small Nitram attended school for the next few weeks. It was that of a grieving period for them.

Horuss had lost his everything… He stayed in bed for three days straight, just staring blankly at the wall. He'd sometimes find himself scrolling through Rufioh's youtube, watching his old videos. Listening to him sing, watching him just being him… and then he'd always stop at the very last video to be uploaded. It was a video of the two of them together, Rufioh's gift to Horuss for his eighteenth birthday. _He never stopped crying…_

It was only after Tavros started attending school again did the word get out.

Horuss dropped from school.

He was, according to Equius, dedicating his time to being a scientist. Trying to find cures for unknown diseases like what Rufioh had.

No one ever really heard from him again. Equius and Meulin, they never mentioned him anymore. It was kind of like he was just…gone…


	3. Chapter 3

A fight.

That's what you'd call it.

Meulin had come down the stairs, obviously angry. She had grabbed her sister and pulled her away from the Zahhak house without even letting her say goodbye to Equius.

Meulin and Horuss had a fight.

A real, real fight.

Horuss had instructed her to leave him be, but she said she was worried. He never talked to anyone anymore.

That fight, it resulted in Nepeta never being allowed to see Equius again.

When they'd enter the yard in the morning, Meulin kept firm grasp on her sister's hand and drug her away from him.

Nepeta was walked to and from class, and made sure to be as far from him as possible.

During lunch, the two sisters sat together. Not even a glance was given to the now alone Equius.

It didn't take long for things to get out of hand.

Nepeta would often try to escape, just to see him.

She ended up being scolded instead.

Equius stopped attending school a few weeks into being avoided. Horuss had never seen his brother cry, yet here he was. Sitting on the floor of his room, knees pulled into his chest. Crying.

"What do you do…when you love someone, and you're not even allowed to look at them?" He'd asked, voice filled with pain.

Equius committed suicide a month after the fight; he hung himself from his ceiling fan.

When Nepeta heard the news,

She followed him.

She was found in the middle of her floor surrounded by blood and pills.

No grieve period, no thinking it through,

Just doing it.

Meulin couldn't even attend the funeral. She knew it was her fault, and she could never change that.

In less than a week, three people had committed suicide.

Equius, Nepeta,

And then Meulin.

Things only got worse, I'll tell you that much.


	4. Chapter 4

IN the weeks that followed, life seemed to just go on.  
The only thing that changed was the fact there were missing seats in class.

Kurloz was grieving over the loss of Meulin, and it was starting to affect Mituna.  
Another fight, oh joy.  
They ended up in an argument, right there in the middle of first period. Mituna was close to tears, Kurloz just looked mad.  
They had to be taken out of the room by the security gaurds, placed in the office until their parents would come get them.  
Sollux got to the office just in time to hear the faithful  
"We're done." Slip from his brother's mouth.

Parents came and went, the day continued.  
All was fine.

The next day rolled in, everything seemed just peachy.  
That is until people noticed Kurloz and Eridan were missing.

Mituna and Sollux had been in an accident.  
Death on impact.

When the news was announced to everyone who had any kind of connection to the two of them, tears filled rooms for hours. By then, a councilor had been called to the school.

"So many students have already faced death to some degree, we need someone to keep them from hurting themselves futher." That's what was said, just to stop anymore dead bodies from turning up.

Sure, the dead bodies wouldn't pile up much; two more couldn't hurt, right?

Eridan was dead within the hour after he heard Sollux was gone.  
Latula had gotten wind of the story from school that day, and wrote a note to her girlfriend Damara before hanging herself in her closet.

Around the time of their funerals, Kurloz dropped out of school. He didn't have the energy to face the world anymore, and would rather waste away inside his room than try to live on his own.

"It really kind of sucks," he'd say to his brother, the last time he'd speak to anyone. "Knowing the last thing you said to someone was nothing but hate… I really wish I could take it all back…He'd still be here if I hadn't said any of that… They both would…" He didn't cry, he couldn't. He just shut down.  
He stopped feeling.


	5. Chapter 5

At the news of Eridan, you'd think to yourself, what about Feferi?

Well, that's about the time the stress of all of it took over.

She rests in a grave next to Eridan's.

That was about the same time Meenah's life came crashing down.

She was raped and killed while walking home from a date with Aranea.

She had always known they lived in a bad neighbourhood, but she never expected to fall victim.

Aranea never cried, no matter how much she wanted to. She'd simply picked up the broken pieces of Meenah she had in her heart, and decided in that moment, what she wanted to do with her life.

She never dropped from school, unlike the others. She stayed in school and focused on her studies. She began blocking out the world around her.

She had become dedicated to finding the people who killed Meenah.

At the time Aranea was analyzing murderers, Vriska was murdered. Word is, it was just a random shooting. No one has any idea what really happened, all they know is Vriska's body came out of it.

Terezi, that's when she cracked. The loss of Vriska was the end for her.

She ended up in a depression, much like Horuss' except, she didn't come out of it.

Terezi died a week after Vriska. More and more grieving came with it, but there was nothing anyone could do.

The group of friends was slowly shrinking.

Aradia finally gave up, everyone she cared about was gone and she couldn't take seeing so many people die.

She jumped off a bridge shortly after the talk of Terezi died down.

I hate to be such a debby downer, but there's some things going on with the other one-

Damara.

She was barely holding on when Latula died. But now her sister, too? Sure, she never really seemed to care about her, but god dammit it was her own flesh and blood! Gone!

What she did, it doesn't make sense to anyone. She's one of those stories that never quite went away.

She dropped out of school and became a prostitute.

She was a senior, top of the class. 19 years old, bilingual, straight A's. Gone. Just like that.

Gone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Did you hear? Karkat's finally losing it!" They'd whisper during class, giggling to themselves.

Karkat Vantas, the youngest of the Vantas brothers, was in fact losing his mind.

He had never been faced with death before, and here he was.

_"All of my friends are dying. And I can't save them." _

He was quite stressed to say the least, so when John came running into him, giggling about something involving Dave, Karkat lost it.

There's a lot of fights, aren't there? Heh heh…

Screaming, screaming like none other was heard throughout the school as Karkat wailed on the now crying John.

When he was finally finished, John couldn't speak.

"I'm sorry…" He'd try to croak out, voice giving out. He'd run, leaving the school in tears.

"He'll be fine. Just like every other time." Karkat thought to himself.

Of course, that was the case until the following week.

Karkat hadn't heard from John in almost a week. He would never admit it, but he was worried.

"Did you hear? John attempted suicide. He's in this asylum now I think. They said he came so close but his dad found him in time to save him."

The words fell on his ears, one of those movie like scenes. He'd fallen to his knees, tears finally beginning to fall.

_"This is my fault." _He'd whisper to himself. Over and over.

Oh I bet you can guess what happens next.

Karkat commits suicide, blah blah blah grief blah blah blah, right?  
Not entirely.

Of course, Karkat does in fact try to commit, but he ends up in the same place as John, where they live out the rest of their days as that one strange asylum couple.

But of course, Dave! John's best buddy that tried to kill Karkat the day after hearing about John!

Dave is found the next day with his brother.

_"What did we just do."_ Dirk would comment quietly, staring at the ceiling.

Your name is Dave Strider and you just hooked up with your taken brother out of grief. 

You would stay silent, feeling disgusting but relieved.

IT was bittersweet, really.

Kind of like this story.


	7. Chapter 7

All went according to their agreement.

Neither of them would ever speak of it to anyone, ever.

And that's just how it was.

And everything was fine.

Until Jake found out.

What a pretty picture that was.

Screaming, so much screaming. Why is everyone always screaming…

Dirk would yell, saying it was for the good of his brother's life. Jake would yell back, saying he was just being ridiculous, and that Dave was using him.

Dave had always had some problems. Aside from slowly getting turned onto drugs by Gamzee, he was always said to be a master manipulator.

I bet you're all hoping this fight ends in them doing it and making up, but I'm sorry to tell you that's not how it ends.

This fight wouldn't end until Dirk was laying on the ground, a bullet straight through the middle of his forehead.

This fight wouldn't end until Jake licked the blood of his ex boyfriend off his fingers.

This fight wouldn't end until Jake had killed Dirk and finally revealed that he had some problems of his own.

This fight wouldn't end until Dave had successfully called the police from the safety of his room.

This fight wouldn't end until the moment a laughing Jake was shoved into the back of a cop car and taken into custody to be tried.

This fight would end when Dave made an appearance at Jake's court trial, and Jake was sentenced to life for the murder of Dirk Strider.

Dave's fight would end when he dropped his knife after what felt like years.

When he decided suicide wasn't the answer to the pain he felt in his stomach, knowing that Dirk being dead was all of his fault.

Dave checked himself into rehab a week after Jake's sentencing.

He's still there today; he sends postcards to the people still actually alive.


	8. Chapter 8

A few weeks after Dave was checked in, Jade followed suit.

Although, to an asylum not the rehab center.

She had picked up some problems over the last year.

She really couldn't stand to even look at herself in the mirror anymore.

Some others needed rehab as well, but not many took the chance until it was too late.

It had been going on for a few months now, and he'd always said it would be okay and that things would get better.

Cronus had become a stereotypical drunk high school dropout. No one really knew when he dropped out but everyone knew he had always been a drinker, even if he was still in high school.

What they hadn't known is that he had been abusing Kankri when he got drunk.

Some days it was worse than other, but Kankri was used to it and had become a master at his makeup skills.

It wasn't until Cronus got drunk and raped him that he couldn't take it anymore.

Kankri committed suicide a few days after Cronus had attacked him.

He left a note, to which Cronus read and cried. So much crying.

It's kind of sad, how things play out for everyone.

It's sad you can't take things back until it's too late.

Cronus was checked into rehab after Kankri's funeral, right along with Dave.

Porrium had always been close to Kankri, and she found herself falling into a depression once he was gone.

She decided to get help along with the rest of the group.

She was in rehab within the week.

It's sad, really. Thinking about this.

The group had gotten so small and no one knew how to deal with it…

So they left it to the only people who knew how to keep themselves happy through all of this.

Roxy, and Gamzee.


	9. Chapter 9

In the weeks that followed, a small gathering was planned. The year was almost over, and this would be the last time they'd get the chance to be together.

Gamzee, Tavros, Roxy, Rose, Jane, and Kanaya sat together in the small living room of the Lalonde's. It was the first time a while that everyone was…happy.

I guess you could call it that.

Happy.

The night progressed, and in the end it turned out the same way.

Roxy was drunk off her wits, and Gamzee was stoned out of mind, and probably on some other random drugs he had picked up.

Jane would help Roxy to bed later that night, and Tavros would sit up late and talk to Gamzee.

They'd finally kiss and make up, and soon everyone would leave for the night.

The next morning, Rose called Kanaya, it was early.  
"She…she's gone…I can't breathe oh my god she's really gone…" Rose cried through the phone, wheezing as she did. "Roxy…she's…she… alcohol poisoning…"

Rose had never cried in front of anyone before. But she sat there, buried in Kanaya, crying.

Roxy had died right after everyone had left, no one found her until the next morning.

Jane was called over, she was crying already.

_And the world comes crashing down…_

The funeral day came and went, just like every other time.

Every other death that piled into this one year.

Every other face you'd never see again.

That's just how it worked.

IT wasn't until the latter days that Rose finally gave in, she turned to drinking. Just like Roxy, she'd think to herself, downing a bottle of whisky.

After an argument or two, Kanaya finally forced Rose into rehab. She sent a letter a few weeks after, telling Kanaya how she was allowed to see Dave and Cronus and Porrium because they were alike.

IT was relieving.

All things went well, everyone that needed help was getting help. Everyone else was finding jobs and prepping for college.

That is… until Tavros called to inform us Gamzee was gone.

An overdose, he'd say in a surprisingly calm voice.

Everyone could tell Gamzee had been doing drugs a lot more than usual, but no one expected this.

When asked why he seemed so calm, Tavros would smile; eyes bright.

"He apologized to me. For everything he had said. And he had told me he wasn't doing very well anymore. And that he probably wouldn't be around much longer. I knew this was coming, so I was prepared. My last words to him were I love you, and that's the last thing he said back. So I'm alright, because I know he was happy." And that was that.

Tavros was still too young to really plan, but Kanaya had decided long ago that she wanted to do something with medicine, something with science and people, when she got out of high school.

Now she had decided.

She'd help people like Rose. Like Roxy.

She'd help them get better after losing people.

After going through an addiction.

She'd help them so she wouldn't lose anyone else.

Jane said she wanted to help.

So as the year finally ended, things were settled and jobs were found.

And the group was gone.

Just like that.


	10. Chapter 10

Jake wakes to the sound of the breakfast alarm, 6:45AM.  
He's been in jail for three and a half months, and he still doesn't regret killing Dirk.

Aranea is awake, already analyzing new files, 7:00AM.  
She has been given a place in the police department. She analyzes murder cases for a living. She hopes to one day bring Meenah's murderer to justice.

Horuss hasn't slept in two days, he is finally going to sleep, 7:04AM.  
He has been up working on finding cures to diseases for two nights straight, and refuses to stop. "So close I can almost taste it!" Determined doesn't even begin to describe him.

Kanaya and Jane live in the same house now, they are getting up for work, 7:15AM.  
The two girls got an internship at the local hospital right out of high-school. They are attending college part time, trying to earn their way into rehabilitation work.

Jade is awake, 7:16AM.  
She glances around her room again before laying back down. "I am in an asylum." She says to herself. "I belong here."

John, wake up, 7:18AM.  
"I am not crazy." He repeats over and over in your head. He can't wait to leave his room; he really wants to see Karkat.

Karkat rolls from his bed, laying on the floor, 7:20AM.  
He groans softly, pushing himself off of the floor. "I have to get up, if I don't I won't see John today." He is the only reason to get up anymore.

Kurloz is sitting in the middle of his kitchen, eating his breakfast alone for what feels like the millionth time, 7:24AM.  
He doesn't remember a time when being alone hurt this much. He wishes Mituna were here, or at least Gamzee. He is finally admitting he's lonely, and he really wishes he still had someone to comfort him. But he is alone. And he can't do anything about it. So he stays silent. Like always.

Damara won't have to work for a while, but she still gets up early, 7:30AM.  
Her life choices haven't been the best, but she's doing just fine. She misses her old life, that's for sure, but she is doing just fine. But, fine isn't always really fine. In fact, fine kind of sucks half the time. So as she walks through her small apartment, she has to mentally prepare herself again for the realization she is a walking machine that people can just use.  
And there is no way out once you're in this deep.

They sit in a circle, playing cards and talking about the past and the future, 7:32AM.  
Dave, Cronus, Rose and Porrium all sit together at a large, round table in the middle of this place they now call home. They share their moments of "I miss you" and "I wish I could go back" but things always turn to the future. And everything is always just okay. Just…okay…

A young boy makes his way into the strangely empty yard, 7:45AM. He is early.  
It's been almost two years since it all began. Thinking back to that very first day, when everything was amazingly perfect. His brother was his best friend, and he still had his boyfriend perched on his lap. Everything was perfect back then.  
But this was now. And that was then.  
Then was a long time ago.  
And things have changed since then.  
Today this young boy, Tavros is name, will graduate with his class. Although, as he looks at the other faces, he doesn't recognize any of them. There are about seven other students in the auditorium, and you'd think that's just because he was early, but…  
The rest of the class is gone.

The students are called to line up, 8:00AM.  
The ceremony wasn't supposed to start for another hour, but now that there are so few students, they just want it to be over with.

It's been a while since you've done anything normally, you think to yourself. All of your friends are dead now…

Your name is Tavros Nitram,  
You have realized that things can change.  
Just like that.


End file.
